


Suffer the Fade

by SaffronClover



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-02 23:43:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2830349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaffronClover/pseuds/SaffronClover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I am a huge freaking sucker for small head canons. This was originally going to have some smut, but I decided to go with something sweet and simpler.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Suffer the Fade

So silent, so cold. The dew on the grass was fresh, and the fog in the air thick; that was the way she liked the hunt. Shia'la's swarthy skin helped keep her hidden in the woods in the early hours of the morning, and that’s what made her one of the best hunters of her clan.

Now she was the Inquisitor, so there was no need for her to hunt for survival. Food was readily available for her whenever she needed it, but still she missed the thrill of tracking her prey.

That’s what she was doing now.

She had been tracking a buck for months. His antler velvet had shed some time ago, and he was now ready for the chase. She had plans for it: the horns and bones she’d send to her clan, while the meat would go to the larder.

There he was: Five points and unaware. Perfect, Shia'la was down wind. She crept with ghostly ease through the thicket, slowly nocking an arrow in her bow.

Despite the coldness of the air, the sweat on her brow was thick.

She felt the string in her fingers resist as she pulled back. Her bow was now up, and she was looking the buck square in the face.

The recognition was one second too late, and now had an arrow between his eyes.

Shia'la gave a sigh of relief as she stood up, releasing some of the tension from her body.

“Da’len, here you are.”

Shia'la froze. A drop of sweat dripped from her forehead and hit her hand, but she did not flinch.

“Shia'la…?”

The elf turned her head, only to see the Elvan apostate smiling that sweet smile of his.

“Solas, no.” She said quietly. “What-“

“When I woke up you were gone. When I saw your bow and hunting leathers missing I knew where you were.” He took a few steps toward her.

The heat from the hunt had dissipated, now leaving her cold. “What are you doing here? You left…”

That caused Solas to chuckle. “Left? No, emma Vhenan. I was sleeping well next to you this morning.”

With every step Solas took toward her, she took another back.

“This isn’t right. You _did_ leave, right after the battle with Coriphyus. You left me with only a reminder of…”

Solas cut her off by putting a finger on her lips. He shook his head side to side, giving her a knowing smile. “These nightmares you keep having are concerning. I must address them next time I enter the fade.” He removed his finger but only replaced it with his own lips.

Shia'la felt his body press against hers. He was all heat and muscle. His hands were familiar, yet stranger. Every nerve, every sensitive part of her body was excited by his touch. It was something she despised about herself, that she could be so excited by one man.

Mustering the will to part lips, she backed up until she was out of his grasp. Shia'la rested her back against a giant gnarled olive tree, still wide eyed.

“Solas, I keep having dreams about you. I keep dreaming you left me, alone. You broke my heart.”

A small flash of sadness registered in his eyes, but as quick as it was there it vanished again. Confidence and calm regained control as he stepped forward again.

The apostate firmly grabbed her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes. “Never worry, Da’len, I will not abandon you.”

A sad, small smile crossed Shia'la's lips a she looked up at her love.

In a small flash the forest, the smell of blood, and her love were sucked from her. Where there was cold was now warmth, and the stillness of the twilight hours replaced by the happy songs of morning birds. Under her hands she felt the softness of the fine sheets she slept on.

She knew where she was without opening her eyes. She knew it was another dream.

The smallest of whimpers penetrated the warm room, but it was not hers.

Shia'la opened her eyes to look at the basket on the other side of her bed. It shook with movement at what was inside. A small, chubby hand reached up in the air and wriggled it’s little fingers.

A happier smile crossed her face as she sat up. “Good morning, Da’len.” Shia'la said to the small bundle in the basket.

There lay a chubby elvan infant. Her hair dark and rich, and her eyes were slowly becoming a stormy grey, unlike her own yellow ones; those she got from her father. Her skin was a lighter shade of her mothers, still dark enough to one day be a skilled night hunter.

She picked up the bundle carefully, and cooed at her. She watched as the infant turned her head, seeking the nourishment she became so accustomed to the past few weeks.

“You left me with a reminder of what could have been.” Shia'la said softly as she hugged the child close.

 

* * *

 

 

Slowly Solas opened his eyes, but was none too eager to get up. He stared at the ceiling of the cave, which had become his temporary makeshift home.

 _‘I have to stop this. I have to stop seeing her.’_ Solas pleaded internally. But he knew better. He knew every night he would go to her in the Fade. He would see her in her dreams, and he would joyfully suffer his heart to ache.


End file.
